By Reason of War
by NightSlash
Summary: WIP. Set after the first Matrix but before Reloaded and Revolutions. Crossover with Underworld (you'll see).


Okay, I do not own any of the characters in this unless I say in a disclaimer later on. This is a somewhat crossover with Underworld (The characters are in it, but are renegade programs, like the Merovingian and his henchmen). This is set after the first Matrix, but before Reloaded/Revolutions, and takes on its own different path from the movie. And it might be a while before I update this, since I'm working on a few other things.

Okay, here it is.

* * *

**_By Reason of War_**

* * * 

The moon had just started to ascend in the horizon when the sound of gunfire broke through the night, shattering the almost disturbing silence. 

A few people screamed and ducked for cover as a man exploded out of a small bar, rolling as he hit the ground before breaking into a run, moving at a speed that almost seemed inhuman.

The door to the bar exploded as Agent Johnson slammed his boot into it, shattering it as if it was nothing. He glanced back and forth, before his sight caught the fleeing figure. Pulling out his Desert Eagle, he gave chase.

He got within 100 feet or so of the fleeing man when suddenly the man briefly stopped before leaping foreword, twisting his body in midair as he pulled out two modified UZI 9mms. 

Time seemed to almost stop for the people in the streets who hadn't retreated in fear for their lives, which didn't leave too many. The man opened fire, sending wave after wave at the pursuing agent.

To everyone's amazement, the agent stopped and suddenly, his upper body became a blur, and one of the people watching suddenly realized that he was _dodging _the bullets.

Time seemed to speed up again as the man who was firing fell to the ground, rolling as he hit the concrete, before leaping to his feet. He continued to run.

* * *

"You're late."

The young man who was wearing a hooded coat shrugged. "Traffic was shitty. It usually is this time of night."

"Fair enough." The man who had spoken first just held out his hand. "Did you bring the money?" He asked. The young man nodded, before reaching down and handing the bag he was carrying to the other man, who took it and opened it up. He smiled. "Excellent." As he spoke he reached into his coat and pulled out a bag that he tossed to the other man. "There you go. Pleasure doing business with you."

The other man nodded and turned to leave when suddenly a man zoomed past the alley that the two were in. Both men looked at each other with curiosity before another man, this one wearing shades and a dark green suit, quickly followed the fleeing man.

"What the-?" The first man started before suddenly yelling in pain as he started to convulse, with his companion quickly following suit. 

After a moment it stopped, and Agents Jackson and Thompson now stood in their place. Both looked at each other and nodded before pulling out their guns and running out of the alley.

* * *

Jackson had passed Johnson and Thompson as they pursued the fleeing man, as ran down one street before jumping to the top of a twenty foot fence. He leapt over it and landed with the grace of a cat before running to the warehouse that could be seen. 

He leapt through one of the windows upon reaching it, before landing inside the large empty building, ignoring the shards of glass that landed around him. 

Leaping up to one of the rafters near the ceiling, he perched there, waiting.

Then, one of the walls burst open as Thompson entered, quickly followed by Johnson and Jackson. All three had their guns drawn as they moved into the warehouse. 

The man smirked.

* * *

Johnson raised his head as he heard a soft scratching noise above. He raised his gun and fired one shot. Nothing happened.

He lowered his gun when suddenly all three heard a noise behind them. They spun around.

The man stepped out of the shadows, revealing himself. He was of medium height and build, and appeared to be in his mid thirties. He wore black boots, black pants, a button up black shirt, and a long black duster that swirled around him as he slowly circled the three agents, who stayed still, deciding to let him make the first movie. His hair was black, and went down past his shoulders, and his facial features were topped off with a neatly trimmed beard and moustache. He continued to circle the three, his dark gray eyes practically burrowing holes into them.

"It's him," Thompson said finally.

"The renegade," Johnson added.

Then the man spoke, cutting through the air with an almost suave-sounding voice. "I have an actual name, you know. It's Lucian," he stated, as he finally stopped circling them, standing in one spot. 

Jackson was the first to react, as he leapt foreword, aiming his gun and firing. 

At the last second Lucian fell back first to the floor. The agent's jump caused him to be propelled rather quickly towards Lucian, and as he passed above him, Lucian lashed out with both of his feet, smashing him in the chest and knocking him into the air. Lucian rolled out of the way and leapt to his feet as Jackson crashed into the spot where he had been just seconds ago. 

Jackson quickly rose to his feet, and if Lucian hadn't known better, he could have sworn that he heard the agent _growl_.

_Great, now they're getting personalities,_ Lucian thought to himself as Jackson charged and attacked. Having lost his gun he lashed out with a punch, catching Lucian in the jaw. He rolled with the blow and attacked with a spin kick, which Jackson leaned back to dodge.

But Lucian was ready for him, as he tensed his arm as a long blade shot out of his coat sleeve, and as Jackson righted himself, Lucian struck, the blade going through the agent's chin and exploding through the back of his skull. He gave a twitch before energy crackled around him as he returned to the form of the drug dealer he had taken over.

Pulling the bloody coat blade free from the skull, Lucian tossed the corpse aside and faced off against the other two. He smirked.

"Let's get this over with," Lucian said as he moved foreword.

Johnson nodded as he and Thompson moved foreword also. "Yes, lets."

The two agents charged and met with Lucian. They attacked in unison, punching and kicking at the renegade program, as he dodged and blocked before attacking with his own.

Finally, Thompson grabbed Lucian's arm and twisted it, causing Lucian to grunt in pain. Johnson lashed out with an uppercut, causing Lucian to be catapulted through the air. He twisted in mid air before landing on his feet. He stood up, the smirk on his face had now returned.

Thompson reached him first and grabbed his arm as he tried to punch him. He reared his fist back, when Lucian suddenly pulled a gun out from his coat. Planting it in the stomach of the agent he pulled the trigger. Thompson jerked as the bullet entered him, and before he could react, Lucian grabbed him and snapped his neck. The body returned to normal also.

He turned to face Johnson, only to find he was no longer there. He spun around just as Johnson leapt foreword, coming down on him with a leaping punch that nearly tore his jaw off. Lucian hit the floor but still had enough combat sense to roll out of the way as Johnson stomped down, his foot smashing the concrete. As he turned, Lucian lashed out with his fist, which struck the agent behind the knee, forcing him down on one of his knees. Lucian quickly leapt to his feet and kicked the agent in the head, knocking him to the floor. He stepped back, as Johnson rose to his feet.

Johnson made the first move, as he attacked with a spinning roundhouse kick. Lucian ducked before lashing out with a punch. Johnson blocked it but it left him open as Lucian suddenly twirled and lashed out with a reverse thrust kick, striking him in the stomach. As Johnson stumbled backwards, Lucian leapt foreword, twisting his body in mid air and lashing out with both of his feet, which struck the agent in the head with the force of a wreaking ball. Johnson's body was blown backwards as his back collided into the wall. 

Not wanting to give him a chance to recover, Lucian raised his arm, as his coat blade snapped out. He aimed his arm, and tensed again. 

Suddenly, the blade shot out of his arm like a harpoon, and before Johnson could dodge, it impaled him in the skull. He jerked, and then slightly glowed as he changed back into the middle age bartender that Johnson had taken over. 

Lucian let out a small chuckle to himself as he walked over, reaching down and yanking the coat blade out of the corpse's skull. He slid it back into his coat sleeve when suddenly he tensed. He quickly pulled out his gun and aimed it at the shadows.

"Who's there?" he yelled. Then he heard footsteps, and he prepared to fire.

He lowered his gun however, as a young woman stepped out from the shadows. She wore black pants and boots, a white shirt, and a leather jacket. She had long blonde hair that went past her shoulders and emerald green eyes. She was rather gorgeous. 

"Sonja," Lucian whispered, more to himself than her, as he walked up to her. "What are you doing here?" He asked her after he pulled away from the kiss that he gave her. 

"I heard you had gone out, so I followed you," she said with an innocent shrug. "Then I saw the agents and decided to see if you needed any help." As she said that she looked at the three corpses. "Although it doesn't look like you did." 

Lucian smiled softly. "Well, thank you for being so concerned for me," he whispered as he leaned down and captured her lips with his own. She sighed into his mouth as she wrapped her arms around him. After a moment he pulled away and the two walked out of the warehouse.

Unknown to them however, two sets of eyes watched as they left. Two sets of eyes that belonged to a pair of programs that had been watching the fight. They wore all white. White pants, white shoes, white shirts, white coats, and white dreadlocks. Like the agents, they too wore shades.

"It seems," Twin One began.

"That we found who we were looking for," Twin Two finished.

They looked at each other, and nodded, before leaping up to the ceiling, changing into their ghostly form before passing through the ceiling.

And the warehouse was again empty.


End file.
